MANILA – Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro is leading an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) humanitarian mission to Myanmar to help expand access to areas needing assistance, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday.
DFA spokesperson for ASEAN Affairs Dax Imperial said Lazaro will visit Shan State and hold meetings in Nay Pyi Taw from Oct. 28 to 29 as the bloc seeks to advance humanitarian efforts in the conflict-hit country.
Imperial said there were no details on a possible meeting between Lazaro and detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“No details on such a meeting. For now, what we have is the humanitarian mission in Shan State and engagements in Nay Pyi Taw,” Imperial said.
The mission comes as ASEAN presses for progress on its 2021 Five-Point Consensus, which calls for an end to violence, inclusive national dialogue and the delivery of humanitarian assistance without discrimination.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow expressed hope that Lazaro would make progress that she could report to ASEAN foreign ministers ahead of the bloc’s upcoming leaders’ summit in Manila.
“She is going there as the ASEAN special envoy, and we hope that there’ll be good progress and some progress for her to report on when the ASEAN foreign ministers meet in Manila prior to the ASEAN Summit,” Sihasak was quoted by Channel News Asia.
The DFA said the mission is being conducted in partnership with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management, which is based in Jakarta. (Joyce Ann Rocamora/PNA)
